


A Mysterious Fridge

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 08:31:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15926705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Nic Stoneground, after crash-landing in Dino Valley, finds a miracle in the snow.





	A Mysterious Fridge

Nic had honestly expected getting off the ground to be the hard part. He'd gotten everything prepared, yes, and the balloon fully fuelled up, then he'd only needed to call out for a travelling person to help him lift off. Landon, the guy who tended his sheep in the field that Nic had decided to set off in, had repeatedly refused his calls for help, stating that he'd needed to look after his flock. No matter how many times Nic had tried to explain to him that it'd only take a few minutes and that he'd be back with his flock in no time. The guy who found entertainment in driving the bulldozer up and down the road to NorthLink had been similarly useless, possibly unable to hear Nic over the sound of his machinery. But then, finally, a young woman with blonde hair had ridden up to him in a dapple grey horse and offered to help. She'd been so interested in his plans and stories, and had told him that she eagerly awaited hearing all about his adventures, or reading about them.

Now, though, Nic wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to tell anyone about his adventures. He might perish even before he'd reached his destination. Gritting his teeth in grim determination, Nic tried his best to steer his hot air balloon through the freezing winds that tried to toss him out of the sky. He was already shivering, and was glad for the druid-blessed poncho that would keep him warm in even the most dire conditions. Well, maybe 'warm' was a bit of a stretch- the poncho was designed to prevent him from freezing to death. Regardless, he was glad for it. It might come in very handy on this expedition.

One thing that Nic was glad for, as he struggled against a particularly strong gust of wind, was the fact that he didn't have long hair. He'd cursed his receding hairline and inability to grow a decent beard once. Never again. Not when he didn't have hair trying to lash his face.

"Come on," Nic murmured, trying desperately to steer his balloon away. He tried to rise higher, but the winds threatened to blow out the pilot light. It was all he could do simply to stay afloat. Dropping ballast didn’t seem to help either, and he was pretty sure that he hadn't even crossed the mountains yet. Nic peered out of the basket, trying to see if there were any nasty cliffs or even treetops below him. But all he could see was white. His brow furrowed for a moment, but then Nic's heart leaped as the realisation hit him. White everywhere, freezing cold, strong winds- he'd made it! He'd finally found the elusive valley that he'd been searching for. Though, he did balk a little at the cold. Perhaps he should set down somewhere warmer first, just to regain some strength and possibly warm himself up a little. He'd heard that Valedale was closeby, but no, he'd heard that the passage to Dino Valley was blocked by ice and snow. Stopping in Valedale would only be a setback. He had to push on.

For what felt like hours, Nic fought the snow and the winds and the sheer cold. He lost feeling in his toes first, followed by his fingers. But Nic knew better than to shove them into his armpits, not now when he needed them so much to ‘steer’ his balloon by fiddling with the burner. If he could just get out of this blasted storm, at least visibility would improve to the point that he'd be able to see something. Just a little more, surely, and he'd be through it.

But, just when Nic was certain that the storm had at last passed, a particularly strong gust of wind sent his balloon careening in another direction. Nic swore and struggled to regain his footing, catching himself against the edge of the basket. He was going too fast, there was a mountain approaching, he had to act now. Quickly, Nic started to remove ballast, dropping sandbags in an attempt to make the balloon lighter so that he could rise up again. But another wall rose up, sharply out of the mist, and Nic gave a cry of despair as everything went white.

Cold. Pure, bitter, unrelenting cold. Colder than anything Nic had ever known. Colder than any winter, even that terrible one that had gripped Jorvik just a few weeks ago. Nic's teeth were chattering even as he sat up, determining that nothing was broken. Everything still worked, it was just very cold. Nic really hoped that he wouldn't get frostbitten from this disastrous adventure. Well, and that he wouldn't bite his tongue off. That would be rather unfortunate, with his teeth chattering like this. He'd landed in a snowdrift, fortunately, one made up of fresh snow. It never seemed to stop snowing here, but he'd heard that about Dino Valley, too. Nic got to his feet, finally tucking his hands into his armpits. It was so cold here, he felt like a mobile phone on vibrate. The idea of not shivering seemed preposterous, Nic didn't even want to think about how silly he'd sound if he tried talking.

At least the winds down here weren't so bad, it was just cold. And the rumble of thunder overheard was rather alarming. Though, Nic was pretty sure that he could see lights... perhaps someone else had been here? Not an explorer, surely, or there would be more information on this place. Or, Nic supposed, he could just be hallucinating. That was a rather concerning (but very real) possibility. Shaking the thought from his mind for the moment, though, Nic carried on, making the first human footprints that this snow had seen in what he assumed was a very long time.

Nic walked. It was all that he could do, really. Just putting one foot in front of the other, and hoping that the thick mist wasn't about to obscure a nasty fall or even a hole that he could wrench his ankle in. The cold never seemed to lessen, and those strange lights never really went away. A few times, Nic glimpsed a shaft of light beaming out from somewhere in the mist, but he didn't dare go near it. He wasn't a believer in magic (despite the poncho that had probably saved his life), but the superstitious side of him still quailed at the idea of spirits luring him away to his doom. It was best to just ignore them.

Though, when night came, bringing with it no stars to pierce through the mist, Nic wished for some sort of light. Those lights began to look pretty tempting then. But, ignoring his rational mind telling him to stay awake, Nic dug himself a snow burrow to wait out the night.

His stomach woke him, but Nic was glad to see that sunlight (however weak) had returned to this frozen valley. The snow didn't sparkle, though, not here. The mist was too thick for that, and the snow too fresh. Nic actually had to dig himself out of the snow, where he stood brushing as much snow off himself as he could. More snow quickly replaced it, however. And yet, Nic was too excited at this new place for anything to weigh him down. Yes, he did need food and shelter, and possibly some water, and heat would be a blessed relief, but he was somewhere new. Somewhere exciting. He was Nic Stoneground, setting off on a new adventure.

Nic walked until daylight turned to night again, with no sign of his balloon or of anything resembling shelter. Not even a cave, though he did find some boulders that acted as a pretty good windbreak. He wished that he could somehow mark certain spots on a map of some description, but the paper and writing utensils had vanished along with his balloon. That he couldn't find his balloon told him that he must have fallen from it, which wasn't good news. But he was alive, and the only pain was that in his stomach and feet. He couldn't even mark signs on rocks or in the earth, though, not when the snow eventually covered everything. In a few moments, he couldn't even see his tracks behind him. Nic's only hope was that he might catch a glimpse of wicker or the material that made up the balloon. Assuming, of course, that his balloon was the only one here. That was a chilling thought. He shivered, adding to the full-body tremble that was now a constant state of being for him. Another night out in the cold passed.

On the third day of wandering, however, Nic was beginning to feel desperate. His stomach roared at him for food, but he didn't dare eat any of the berries and nuts that he found scattered around some of the trees. No matter how hungry he was, any good explorer (which Nic certainly was) knew to be cautious and to not eat anything that he couldn't identify, lest it turn out to be deadly. He was growing weaker, he knew. His legs trembled, and not just from the cold. Nic didn't think he'd last another night like this. The poncho could protect him from the cold, but nothing could protect him from hunger.

Freezing, starving, and more than likely dehydrated, Nic fell to his knees. He couldn't stand. His arms trembled when he tried, his breathing coming in short, harsh pants. Nic lowered his head to the snow, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the snow, his breath fogging the air. He wasn't sure who he was apologising to- himself, the scientific community, anyone who loved his work. His favourite niece. "If only I had food, I could continue. But I can't." Nic turned his head, closing his eyes and waiting.

Something was glowing through his eyelids. Nic's eyes snapped open, expecting- what? Another morning? The ghost of Jon Jarl? Some spectre, come to take him away? Whatever had left those glowing lights? Wait a minute. There was a word in front of him, in Jorvegian. He recognised that word from home. Nic frowned. How had his fridge gotten here?

His curiosity gave him the strength needed to sit up and brush away the snow that coated- yes, that was a fridge. In the snow. What in the world? Nic wasn't sure if his brow could furrow any further without rupturing something, but he sure as heck tried. Clearing away all of the snow revealed what looked to be, for all the world, a little bar fridge. On a whim, Nic opened it, tensing to brace for a dead body or something equally terrible. Possibly a portal to another dimension, he didn't know.

What greeted him was shelves full of bottled water. Nic blinked hard, rubbed his eyes (with one hand, he didn't want to shut the fridge door and miss out on the water). Still there. Nic wanted to resist, but his hand acted on autopilot, reaching in and grabbing a bottle. The water tasted sweet, fresh, the best bottled water he'd ever tasted. He'd been eating snow, sure, but that was barely enough and he always had to worry about lowering his body temperature too much. Nic polished off the bottle and closed the door again, the odd thought that the cold air would escape floating through his mind.

But his stomach still growled, painful with hunger. Nic opened the fridge again, though he hadn't seen any food in there before. This time, rather than water, food lined the shelves. All kinds of food- cheeses, sliced meats, butter, bread (even though it didn't belong in the fridge), cereals, fruits, vegetables, even a leftover roast dinner. Nic peeled back the foil and found lamb. His mouth watered and Nic grabbed at the food, scarfing down bread and cheese and some of the meats, even a tomato. And it all tasted so good. There was even chocolate to finish, although part of Nic worried about the impact of eating so much food after nothing for so long.

"Little fridge, you are a miracle," said Nic, patting the top of the fridge. To his surprise, however, the fridge started to float. Nic scrambled to his feet. "No, no, little fridge, don't float away!" He cast about for something, anything to keep the fridge tethered, and the fridge glowed with a bright blue light not unlike the far-off lights that he'd seen here. Something compelled Nic to open the fridge, and when he did, he had to laugh at the sight of a chain. Well, it would do. Turning the fridge around, Nic found a loop to clip the chain to, holding the other end of the short chain in his hand. The fridge continued to float there, but it no longer seemed about to float away. It seemed content to simply float there, on its lead. Like a good little pet. Nic laughed again, his first real laugh in days. It was a rather odd little pet, but it had saved his life. He knew it.

Nic vowed, from that moment, to never let that fridge out of his sight, even for a moment. Something told him that it was important.


End file.
